Well I say a philosophical debate but it was really just me arguing with myself. Here’s the deal, I am trying to get my small shop organized and cleaned up prior to the next project. Now I am not looking to “Kirby” it or anything like that but rather I would just like to not have to move a bunch of stuff from one flat surface to another while working on a project. Also being able to find what I am looking for when I need it would also be a great plus. So with all that I am at a stage where I decided I need two small cabinets that I can hang on the wall in strategic locations.
Have you ever noticed that if you wait till the weekend to go get supplies and take your wife with you it normally ends up taking at least half the day to get back home due to the several unplanned stops the wife decides you need to make? So I decided to go and get some plywood for my new cabinets on the way home from work to spare myself clothes shopping on the weekend. Now neither Rockler nor Woodcraft is very close to me at all and neither is any kind of lumber company so I am forced to go to one of the Big Box stores. I know that Home Depot carries plywood cut in 2’ X 4’ pieces and since I am in my Firebird I decide I can handle pieces of that size. So to the BORG I go and when I get there I make my way to the plywood section. I start looking at the Birch plywood in ¾” thickness and glance at the price which was almost $11. Well that does not sound so bad but then I started examining the pieces. I find it hard to believe that they can actually sell stuff like that! I mean this plywood had more putty filled knots and voids than any I have ever seen. Well I thought to myself the nice Baltic Birch at Rocklers is only $14 a piece and it is so much nicer than this stuff. So as I stood there and debated if my weekend time savings was really worth me working with this wood. I thought that if I was going to buy junk wood I might as well buy the BC plywood but it was $9 a piece and I don’t think there was a piece in the stack that was not warped. In the end I decided to put aside my wood snob ness and go with the better (used loosely) Birch plywood that they had there and save some time. I picked through all the pieces and found 3 that were pretty good even though two of the pieces were spalted. By the way for reference a 2’ X 4’ piece of plywood at this place is not 2’ X 4’.
So I placed my 3 pieces of plywood in the basket and then added a 2’ X 4’ piece of MDF to use in an up and coming project. Then on to the checkout line I went. There was only one open register and it was not busy as two checker girls were just standing there chatting. I pulled my basket up to the checkout and then found myself just standing there as they continued the conversation they were having. It seemed like quite some time and during that time neither of them even looked at me. Well after clearing my throat several times and shuffling the basket around the one girl finally started to process me. She snatched up here handheld barcode scanner and swiped it twice on the sticker of the MDF. Then to my surprise she announced the very low total too me. Even being as aggravated as I was with not only the quality of wood I was buying but also the general attitudes at the checkout I just had to say something. I am the kind of guy that would never intentionally cheat anyone and when I die I feel that I will go to my grave with a clear conscious and the knowledge that I gave more than I got. So with that I just had to say something. I said “I don’t think that is the right total” Now I kid you not this girl for the first time looked me strait in the eyes and said very sarcastically “Sir, I scanned the barcodes directly in. This is how much you owe; do you need a manager to come over?” Well I was very surprised at this and said no I don’t think I do so she motioned towards the credit card machine and said “swipe your card there” (I already had the card in my hand and she saw it). As I walked outside still with a puzzled look on my face I checked the receipt and sure enough she charged me for two pieces of MDF. As I sit and think about it I did probably pay what the wood was worth but it always amazes me the incompetence of the people that work at these places and reminds me how much I hate doing business with them. It often surprises me that they can report the profits that they do.
Ken
Have you ever noticed that if you wait till the weekend to go get supplies and take your wife with you it normally ends up taking at least half the day to get back home due to the several unplanned stops the wife decides you need to make? So I decided to go and get some plywood for my new cabinets on the way home from work to spare myself clothes shopping on the weekend. Now neither Rockler nor Woodcraft is very close to me at all and neither is any kind of lumber company so I am forced to go to one of the Big Box stores. I know that Home Depot carries plywood cut in 2’ X 4’ pieces and since I am in my Firebird I decide I can handle pieces of that size. So to the BORG I go and when I get there I make my way to the plywood section. I start looking at the Birch plywood in ¾” thickness and glance at the price which was almost $11. Well that does not sound so bad but then I started examining the pieces. I find it hard to believe that they can actually sell stuff like that! I mean this plywood had more putty filled knots and voids than any I have ever seen. Well I thought to myself the nice Baltic Birch at Rocklers is only $14 a piece and it is so much nicer than this stuff. So as I stood there and debated if my weekend time savings was really worth me working with this wood. I thought that if I was going to buy junk wood I might as well buy the BC plywood but it was $9 a piece and I don’t think there was a piece in the stack that was not warped. In the end I decided to put aside my wood snob ness and go with the better (used loosely) Birch plywood that they had there and save some time. I picked through all the pieces and found 3 that were pretty good even though two of the pieces were spalted. By the way for reference a 2’ X 4’ piece of plywood at this place is not 2’ X 4’.
So I placed my 3 pieces of plywood in the basket and then added a 2’ X 4’ piece of MDF to use in an up and coming project. Then on to the checkout line I went. There was only one open register and it was not busy as two checker girls were just standing there chatting. I pulled my basket up to the checkout and then found myself just standing there as they continued the conversation they were having. It seemed like quite some time and during that time neither of them even looked at me. Well after clearing my throat several times and shuffling the basket around the one girl finally started to process me. She snatched up here handheld barcode scanner and swiped it twice on the sticker of the MDF. Then to my surprise she announced the very low total too me. Even being as aggravated as I was with not only the quality of wood I was buying but also the general attitudes at the checkout I just had to say something. I am the kind of guy that would never intentionally cheat anyone and when I die I feel that I will go to my grave with a clear conscious and the knowledge that I gave more than I got. So with that I just had to say something. I said “I don’t think that is the right total” Now I kid you not this girl for the first time looked me strait in the eyes and said very sarcastically “Sir, I scanned the barcodes directly in. This is how much you owe; do you need a manager to come over?” Well I was very surprised at this and said no I don’t think I do so she motioned towards the credit card machine and said “swipe your card there” (I already had the card in my hand and she saw it). As I walked outside still with a puzzled look on my face I checked the receipt and sure enough she charged me for two pieces of MDF. As I sit and think about it I did probably pay what the wood was worth but it always amazes me the incompetence of the people that work at these places and reminds me how much I hate doing business with them. It often surprises me that they can report the profits that they do.
Ken
LCHIEN
Loring in Katy, TX USA
I know what you mean though because I was taught to be upfront and honest in all things. I have since learnt that while this is a nice life goal, the reality is often not what you would hope the outcome to be. You get slammed by life in so many ways that after a while you learn that sometimes the Karma wheel spins your way. I hope it does for this weeks Lotto draw 
.
Comment